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Chairshots
3-19-02

Wrestlemania Thoughts
Over the last year many critics and fans have said that the WWF is no better than WCW right before its demise. I always laugh to myself when I read or hear that because it's such a ridiculous thing to say. Fans have forgotten how truly bad WCW was. And while the quality of WWF shows has gone down from where it used to be and they have made several of the same mistakes WCW made, they are still 100 times better than the final year of WCW. And while the build up to Wrestlemania may have been one of the worst in WWF history, the WWF still gave the fans their money's worth on Sunday night. That is something WCW could never do.

Who knew Hulk Hogan would be cheered the way he was? Who knew the Rock would be booed? Who knew that the two would be able to create a magical Wrestlemania moment that even the most cynical critic had to appreciate? I admit it. I didn't think any of those things would happen. I was positive that Rock would have to carry Hogan to a barely watchable match (as everyone else has had to do over the last 9 years) and that an NWO run in was a sure thing. Color me pleasantly surprised.

While the fan in me enjoyed the match for the stroll down memory lane that it was, the critic in me screamed that the whole Hogan turn just doesn't make sense. I can see the NWO jumping Hogan for losing, but I can't understand how The Rock can so easily forgive Hogan for beating the crap out of him and then hitting his ambulance with a semi truck. Then again, Steve Austin seems to have forgiven Triple H for running him over with a car, so maybe wrestlers are just funny that way. But realize that in the span of a week Hogan's promos shifted from I hate the fans to "I love you guys." Color me cynical.

Triple H vs. Jericho was as good a match as expected. I think we all knew that Triple H would be leaving with the belt so that was no big surprise. It's a match that will get better as time passes. In a few years we will have forgotten all the lame Stephanie skits that led up to it and rather just enjoy it as two talented wrestlers giving their all. WWF made the right move in making it the last match as well. We can say with hindsight now that Hogan/Rock should have ended the show, but what if the Hogan/Rock match had turned out to be as bad as predicted? Then the show would have ended on a sour note and the WWF truly would be WCW.

Steve Austin beat Scott Hall, which surprised me. I figured that Rock would beat Hogan, so Hall had to beat Austin in order to maintain the illusion that the NWO is a powerful force. When Wrestlemania was over I figured that the WWF had given up on the whole NWO thing since Hogan defected, but Raw showed me that they are about to take it in a different direction. More on that later...

Flair vs. Undertaker was enjoyable for the slugfest that it was. How can any match with a bloody Ric Flair be bad? Undertaker won, as he clearly should have, but it would have been nice to see Flair get a little more revenge for what The Undertaker did to him. Maybe this is just the first step towards the return of The Four Horsemen. Again.

The rest of the card was standard WWF. All the wrestlers worked hard and had solid matches. Guys like Edge and Booker had good matches but without proper buildup in the weeks before Wrestlemania there was only so much they could hope to accomplish. I enjoyed the match but when I started thinking about what my prediction accuracy was later in the night I had to ask someone who won.

Not the best Wrestlemania, but still a solid thumbs up.

Raw Thoughts
From Chairshots on 3/8: "I need Vince McMahon to say that the first step in the NWO's plan is to take out the top stars. It gives focus to their mission and explains why the undercard wrestlers aren't getting involved. "

Kevin Nash on Raw last night: "The plan to destroy the WWF was to take out one wrestler at a time, starting with Austin."

Thank you WWF. I feel better now.

If Wrestlemania is the end of the booking year in the world of WWF wrestling, then the first Raw usually shows where the company is headed in the future. From last night's show, things are starting to look good. We got a new superstar, a returning icon, a major storyline and the set up of bigger things to come. Let's break it down.

It's been coming for weeks and now it's official. The WWF will split into two separate rosters starting next week. Raw will feature a draft to decide which wrestlers will be a part of McMahon's Smackdown roster and who will be part of Flair's Raw roster. Sounds like next week's Raw is going to be some must see TV. This is a pretty cool idea and I'm already getting stoked thinking about the possibilities. Make sure to watch Raw next Monday or you're going to be out of the loop for the rest of the year.

Brock Lesnar made his debut in the hardcore match and destroyed everyone. Ladies and gentlemen, that is how you debut a new heel. Forget about gimmicks and screw backstage vignettes. A big mean looking mother f-er comes to the ring and beats the tar out of a bunch of people. That's the way I like my wrestling. J.R. and King did a nice job of tying Lesnar in to the roster-split storyline by referring to Lesnar as "the biggest free agent in the wrestling world." Excellent segment and of course it's nice to see Paul Heyman back on television.

Next week no more Stephanie! That may be an overstatement but it sure sounds as if the WWF is finally listening to our complaints. Triple H will take on Jericho and Stephanie in a handicap match. If Stephanie is pinned she has to leave the WWF. I can't imagine Jericho winning the title back so quickly, so I'm assuming that Stephanie is going away for a while. Any objections say aye...Aye didn't think so.

Finally the remaining members of the NWO got their asses handed to them in the main event by Rock and Hogan. I know a few fans thought that Nash and Hall leaving the ring and backing away was a lame way to end the show, but it could be laying groundwork for something bigger. The NWO has always been about overpowering the opposition with superior numbers. Hogan has joined the other team, as it were, and Nash and Hall realized that in the main event. Hopefully this was the setup to justify new NWO members coming soon. Or maybe I'm reading too much into this and that was a lame way to end the show. Either way, I guess we'll know soon enough.

Ratings
Raw drew a strong 5.3 rating. That's well above the 4.5 ratings it drew the past two weeks and is the best rating for the WWF this year. Last week's Tough Enough 2 scored a 1.5 rating. That is up slightly. WWF Excess last Saturday did a .85 rating. That show continues to go down in flames.

Shamrock Wants Angle
Ken Shamrock was in Toronto last week doing media appearances. On one of his radio appearances he said that he would like to work 1-2 shoot fights per year, and spend the rest of his time with the WWF. Shamrock even challenged Kurt Angle to a match. There are no current plans for Shamrock to return, but if he's serious then I'm sure we will be seeing the Battle of the Ankle Locks coming soon.

Honeymoons and Bodyslams
The WWF announced that they will be opening a theme park type venue at Niagara Falls in Toronto this summer. The facility, called "WWF Niagara Falls" will feature a 220 foot free-fall drop ride called "The Piledriver." The venue will also feature other "activities" as well as a retail store. This should really help Niagara Falls regain it's rightful place as the number one honeymoon destination.

Injury Update

The latest on Chris Benoit is that he is very close to returning. He is said to be looking good. On Excess last week, he mentioned that his return date may be as soon as May.

Kanyon & Mike Awesome are both also doing well and should be returning soon.

Ric Flair bruised his right heel during his match at Wrestlemania.

If you saw Hulk Hogan holding his ribs after his match at Wrestlemania, then you spotted the results of the injury I reported last week. No severe damage, but Hulk was clearly in pain following the match.

Triple H said that his formerly injured left quadriceps muscle was "tied up in knots" after his match. He does not believe there is any long-term damage.

On Raw last night Bubba Ray Dudley had an inch long cut over his left eyebrow. He got that during his match at Wrestlemania after an elbow from Jeff Hardy. He chose not to get stitches, but rather glued it back in place. I smell an opportunity for a crazy glue endorsement.

That's all for today. Catch you all on Friday.

Michael Goodson